This invention relates to a record player of the type, hereinafter referred to as the type described, comprising a deck plate, a turntable rotatably mounted on the deck plate and driven, in use, by an electric motor, a centre spindle extending upwardly from the centre of the turntable, a tone arm carrying a pick-up at one end and mounted for pivotal movement about vertical and horizontal axes and drive means to pivot the tone arm about the horizontal axis to disengage the pick-up from a record and then to swing the tone arm about the vertical axis to position the tone arm outwardly of the periphery of the record.
Record players of the type described are commonly provided with a pair of phono sockets adapted to receive plug members to connect the pick-up of the record player to sound reproducing equipment such as amplifier and speaker. A phono socket comprises an inner tubular socket part adapted to receive the male part of a plug and an outer socket part adapted to be received within the female part of the plug, the inner and outer socket parts being co-axial and insulated from each other and provided with means for connection thereto of conductors.
Generally two phono sockets are provided in a unit and mounted in a common base plate of insulating material. There are also known some phono socket units having two sockets in which there is a single outer socket part which is common to both the sockets and such phono sockets are included within the scope of the invention. The invention is also applicable to a single phono socket.
It is desirable in a record player of the type described to provide a muting switch operative to short-circuit the leads from the pick-up to the sound reproducing equipment at all times except when a record is being played and a manually operable member of the record player is in a "play" position.
It is an object of the invention to provide a new or improved muting switch which can act on the phono socket assembly of a record player of the type described to short-circuit the leads from the pick-up to the sound reproducing equipment.